Interesting. Don't know much about him but the guy has been on a steep trajectory the last few years. He went from playing in SWE tier 4 in 14/15 to having an amazing season in SHL with Växjö this year which culiminated in a SHL championship.

At the very least it should create some more competition for that 3rd pair RD spot, and he could potentially help out the PP too.

Persson, like Pilut, is a young defenseman near the top of his team in scoring. The 23-year-old has 5 goals and 29 points in 42 games which is good for fourth on the Lakers and first amongst defensemen. A quick note: Emil Pettersson’s younger brother, Elias (a Canucks prospect), is tearing it up for the Lakers this year with 45 points in 35 games. Persson doesn’t shoot as much as Pilut does but the numbers are still impressive.
The 2017-18 campaign is Persson’s first in the SHL. In fact, he actually jumped straight from the third-tier Swedish league, Hockeyettan, to the SHL this season, and the transition has been fairly seamless. In 38 games last season, Persson scored 40 points. Jumping two leagues and still posting nearly 0.70 points-per-game is impressive. It does certainly help that Vaxjo is steamrolling their competition this season with 17 more points than second-place Djurgarden.
Persson has an identical build to Pilut but might play a more physical game. He is signed by Vaxjo for the next two seasons.
In the clip above, Persson, #94 in blue, makes a bad pinch at the blueline but proceeds to adjust well. His stride is much more drawn out than Pilut’s. He gets back and makes a proper play on the puck, but lack of defensive support leads to a goal against.
Here, Persson looks like a regular on the Preds’ defensive corps in the offensive zone. I’ve noticed he likes to dish more from the center point on the powerplay, whereas Ekholm and Josi tend to dish more from the half-wall and corners. The defensive lapse here by Salzburg isn’t something often seen in the NHL, but I like the awareness to shoot for redirections and deflections.
This clip features a really bizarre choice by one of the Brynas penalty killers, but, regardless, I like Persson’s constant patrolling on the blue line and his heavy shot that’s low to the ice here.
I think Pilut is a notch slightly above Persson and might fit the organization a bit better, but Persson may not have as much NHL competition.

Interesting signing. The farm team seems to be quite stacked on D already (isn't one of Berglund or Lageson coming over?). Assuming we bring in that right shot top 4 D, there isn't much room for D in the NHL either. Is this our Auvitu replacement?

Joel Persson is a guy who went straight from the Swedish 3rd tier league to the SHL where he was one of the best D's in the league last season. That step is huge, a year ago he had a full time job outside of hockey. The only player I can recall doing something similar is Fabian Brunnström. That guy later scored a hattrick in his first NHL game but things went downhill from there.

I would say Persson is a two way defenseman but it's the offensive skill that really stands out. He's a very creative player with good hands. His skating is not elite but it's good enough and he is a big threat on the offensive blue line. I think he's the most talented free agent from the SHL.

He needs to bulk up over the summer and become stronger though. This is probably his first summer of training like a professional and you can tell that he is behind most SHL players in that area. I think proper training could take his game to another level but it might take a while so don't expect him over for next season.

Joel Persson is a guy who went straight from the Swedish 3rd tier league to the SHL where he was one of the best D's in the league last season. That step is huge, a year ago he had a full time job outside of hockey. The only player I can recall doing something similar is Fabian Brunnström. That guy later scored a hattrick in his first NHL game but things went downhill from there.

I would say Persson is a two way defenseman but it's the offensive skill that really stands out. He's a very creative player with good hands. His skating is not elite but it's good enough and he is a big threat on the offensive blue line. I think he's the most talented free agent from the SHL.

He needs to bulk up over the summer and become stronger though. This is probably his first summer of training like a professional and you can tell that he is behind most SHL players in that area. I think proper training could take his game to another level but it might take a while so don't expect him over for next season.

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Well, I think at the very least, we could see him in the AHL. I doubt he'd have signed with us just to stay 1 more season in the SHL (unless he is obligated to fulfill 1 more year there)

I will agree with some in here that his career these last years has been remarkable to say the least. First season in the SHL after playing in Sweden's 4th division just three years ago and in the 3rd division last year.

This year, as an SHL rookie:
- nominated to best SHL rookie award with Dahlin and Pettersson
- nominated to best SHL defenseman award with Hogstrom and Pilut
- nominated to MVP in the CHL (champion hockey league, Europe wide tournament) with 4 other players from other teams in Europe
- led Vaxjo in scoring in the CHL with 11 pts in 13 GP, ahead of Elias Pettersson

He didn't just take the step up to the SHL and survived, he stepped up and was right away a force. I also have not seen very much of him to be honest, but looking at his career path I think this is a great signing in that he has already defied all the odds before. Let's see if he can do it again, I for one wouldn't bet against it.

This is definitely a good risk to take, anyone know what his skating is like?

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Someone will likely respond better than I can but from all accounts I have read (not seen) he is a good skater, not an excellent one.

I'd also like to add what someone brought up a bit before, this guy was working a full-time job as teacher's assistant until last year, playing hockey on the side. I would expect that this meant/means that he has not really been able to train hockey full time until this season which to me indicates that there is a possibility for major improvement in several areas. That is my guess though, we'll see how things work out.

Someone will likely respond better than I can but from all accounts I have read (not seen) he is a good skater, not an excellent one.

I'd also like to add what someone brought up a bit before, this guy was working a full-time job as teacher's assistant until last year, playing hockey on the side. I would expect that this meant/means that he has not really been able to train hockey full time until this season which to me indicates that there is a possibility for major improvement in several areas. That is my guess though, we'll see how things work out.

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That's really interesting, maybe with the tools available to him (coaching, training, etc) in the NHL there might be a higher end for him. Thanks for the info.

I will agree with some in here that his career these last years has been remarkable to say the least. First season in the SHL after playing in Sweden's 4th division just three years ago and in the 3rd division last year.

This year, as an SHL rookie:
- nominated to best SHL rookie award with Dahlin and Pettersson- nominated to best SHL defenseman award with Hogstrom and Pilut
- nominated to MVP in the CHL (champion hockey league, Europe wide tournament) with 4 other players from other teams in Europe
- led Vaxjo in scoring in the CHL with 11 pts in 13 GP, ahead of Elias Pettersson

He didn't just take the step up to the SHL and survived, he stepped up and was right away a force. I also have not seen very much of him to be honest, but looking at his career path I think this is a great signing in that he has already defied all the odds before. Let's see if he can do it again, I for one wouldn't bet against it.

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Interesting. Given how much hype is surrounding Dahlin (TSN and their "he's a generational dman" angle), I wouldve thought Dahlin would be nominated

Interesting. Given how much hype is surrounding Dahlin (TSN and their "he's a generational dman" angle), I wouldve thought Dahlin would be nominated

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At the end of the day Dahlin, for all his obvious talent, had 20 pts in 40 GP. That is really good to great for his age, but since he is really competing in the "offense" category of D he was a bit behind the leaders. Pilut (22 years old) with 38 pts and Persson (24 years old) with 34 pts. The third nominee Hogstrom (29 years old) is a two-way D nominee (leads the SHL in ice time per GP) and he still got 23 pts.

Solid signing. Right shot and supposedly was the QB on the top PP in the SHL. I do like that his projection is on a steep incline vs stagnated. If he can be a regular on the 3rd pairing and offer value on the PP I have all day for him